Well, I have about this much time [_________]
and this much to say [_______________________________________]
hahah so I’ll try to get as much of these last two weeks in that I can! To start off my friends and fam, how is the Zulu phrase for the doors going?? Are ready for another session of SA language class? This week we'll be learning a little Xhosa :) (Grandpa Homer, you're really going to enjoy this one) so let’s learn how to say "I’m brushing my teeth" like a Xhosa from Eastern Cape would say it in his native tongue. "ukuxhukuxha" hahahahahaha and yes, i did spell it right. Now for pronunciation, remember in Xhosa, the "xh" is a click sound :) haha tell me how it goes!
It’s a ton of fun learning all of these different cultures and especially the languages that allow us to communicate with people:) and speaking; we will have to learn a lot more Zulu since our area has switched. Oh wait, let me start at the beginning.
Transfers were this last Tuesday and sadly, Elder Matos had finished training me and it was time for me to spread my wings and lead the area with a new companion. My new companion is Elder Jake Raymond from Gold Coast, Australia! Ha-ha I scored an Aussie as a comp and he is a cool dude! He is half Maori and half Aussie and 100% legit haha we will have a good time as companions! And even better is that he knows how to drive stick shift! Haha I won’t have to be thrown in the deep end of the pool to learn how to drive! But that’s not all from transfers. You may remember my first transfer here the Joburg 1 elders were Perez and Stapely. Well, last transfer Stapley got transferred to Bedfordview and now Matos is his new companion over there in cheeseboy city! (Rich rich rich scotani part of town). So that’s a pretty cool coincidence! As for us, we aren’t Joburg 3 anymore :( the Joburg 2 elders both left (Kavindja finished his mission and Rawlings went to Zim) so we now have to white-wash the most dangerous area in the mission. -______- I’ll need your prayers back home! We don’t know where we're going and we're both white so it’ll be super sketchy. At least we get to keep the investigators from Joburg 3 that we put on baptism date so we can still finish teaching them and baptize them :)
Speaking of baptisms! Jeanethe Matovheke was baptized yesterday and I got to baptize her! It was an amazing experience to be part of the first saving ordinance we make here on earth. She was super prepared for the gospel and her smile as she came out of the water was priceless and words cannot describe her (or my) happiness!!! What a cool part of mission:) the even cooler part is that her husband came to church to support her and we are now teaching him and he is excited to come to church! He said "you better believe I’m coming next week!" ahhh mission is great:)
.......sometimes. Sometimes, it can really suck! Like when you get a package from your family and only 1/3 of the contents are there.... yeah. I got my church magazines and usb charger and Grandpa Richard's funeral program but everything else was missing. The packaging was ripped open and the bag that contained all my stuff had a note from the USPS that apologized that their "high-speed mail sorting machines" sometimes destroy stuff...... cool. Needless to say that really sucked!
But that’s a little about my last couple weeks here in Jozi! I pray for and love all of you back home:) keep looking for ways to be a little better each day! My challenge for each of you is to start each day with a smile on your face; even if it’s super fake and forced, I can guarantee if you make an effort, the day won’t be a bad:)
Love ya'll!
Sharp-sharp,
Elder David Spencer Tony Smith
